What Makes a True Hero?
by CrystalFlame360
Summary: Alfred had always believed that being a hero was all about being a badass; though a good friend of his tells him otherwise.


**(A/N) Yeah, I'm not dead! I know I haven't been active much, and I apologise for that. And for those who are reading it, the eleventh chapter of,** ** _Paint it, Red_** **is in development, it's not discontinued, I just had a lack of motivation and inspiration. I'm fine now.**

 **I wouldn't call this story my best work, but I'll leave you to judge ^_^**

 **No flames please, if you hate it, keep it to yourself; however, if you think it could be better, recommend improvements.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, or its characters; they belong to Hidekaz Himaruya**

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Alfred had always fantasised about being a hero; one that would help anyone in need, no matter what the situation was, or the cost for his aid. He was already beginning to make a start on his heroic endeavours; performing mundane, but still worthwhile, acts, such as picking up rubbish off of the street, giving the elderly assistance whilst they were crossing the road, and even getting cats out of trees. But, as fulfilling as it was to help those in distress, he couldn't deny the fact that the tasks he did weren't very exhilarating, or typical of the heroes he idolised in the comic books he read; he didn't have a villain to cease, or civilians to save from certain death, and not even superpowers for that matter. Despite knowing that these stories of heroes were only fiction, not reality, he couldn't stop himself from imagining what-if scenarios in his head; often during class.

That was why he was stuck in an after school detention; watching the hands on the ticking clock move, praying that each minute would go faster. It didn't. It seemed that time itself couldn't be bothered quickening its pace for the young, ambitious American.

 _'Who ever thought that thinking about your future would land you with a detention?'_ He thought bitterly, as he scowled at the clock in exasperation. The blonde wished that he could forward time with his mind, that way, his detention wouldn't feel like it was eternal; however, regrettably for him, that couldn't be done, but only if it could be done...

He was well aware that it was far from possible, but in his books, it was worth a try. Placing his hands around the edge of the desk, he leaned forward, whilst he furrowed his brows in concentration. Unbeknownst to him, the odd expression on his face got his teacher's attention, as he could hear the clacking of her heels slowly approaching him, prompting him to open his eyes.

"Alfred?" his teacher, Ms. Osmund, asked sternly, her jaw clenched and her brows knitted together in frustration. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked, with a smirk and folded arms. "I'm trying to make time speed-up," lowering his voice for dramatic effect, he added, "with my mind."

This resulted in the other four students in attendance emitting laughter, which didn't impress the teacher at all, as she gave them all a menacing glare. The students instantly understood that the teacher didn't find it humorous in the slightest, and shut their mouths. Sighing, she returned her gaze to Alfred.

"Do not be ridiculous, Alfred!" She snapped, slamming her ruler down on the desk. "If you continue to spout such nonsense from that mouth of yours, I will add an extra 30 minutes to your detention."

"You can't!" He protested, standing from his seat, as his hands found themselves gripping the edge of the desk again.

"And why is that, Alfred?"

"It's already 4:45, and you can't keep me here past 5 o'clock, it's illegal."

Quickly taking a glance at the clock, she sighed. "You have a point." Looking at the whole classroom, she announced, "I'll let you all go in 15 minutes; Alfred, you have an extra 15 minutes with me after school tomorrow, are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

(...)

"It was soo boring!" Alfred whined, as he made his way home with his close friend, and neighbour, Feliciano; who wore a carefree expression on his face, whilst listening to the blonde's complaints. "And to make things even worse, I have another one tomorrow!"

"Well, just be wary of what you say next time," Feliciano advised airily, smiling brightly and stifling a yawn. "Then you won't be in detentions all the time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied, sighing before a small grin appeared on his face. "You also need to work on your sleeping pattern, Feli; you sleep in more often than not, which makes you late for school."

"Heehee... si, you're not wrong," Feli said, rubbing the back of his head. "But getting up in the morning has been very difficult for me, as well as getting to sleep at a reasonable time." He sighed, looking down at the ground. "I think there's something -"

"Hey, Feli, I've got an idea for tomorrow," Alfred interrupted, wrapping an arm around the Italian. "Since it's Friday tomorrow, after my detention we could do something together, just you and me! What do ya say?"

"That sounds great to me, Alfie!" Feliciano beamed. "What do you have in mind?"

"Heroism, of course! You can be my partner, and we can try to do real hero stuff; like finding real criminals and -"

"Alfie?"

"Yeah?"

"That sounds very dangerous..."

"Oh, come on!" Alfred exclaimed, letting go of his friend and standing in front of him. "Think of how badass it would be, Feli! We could become famous, and be truly recognised as heroes; we could become Batman and Robin!"

"Alfred..." Feliciano looked down at the ground with a sigh, before looking back up at the American boy. "As much as I support your dream of becoming a hero, I won't blindly agree with you; I think your idea is dangerous, you saying how 'badass' it would be doesn't change that."

"But, Fe-!"

"Alfie," the Italian held up his hand, which was a sign that he hadn't yet finished talking. "Being a hero isn't all about having a criminal to arrest, or saving people from disaster, it's about the actions you make in general. For example, you became my hero when you befriended me 10 years ago."

Taking the slack-jawed blonde's hands in his own, he continued. "There was no bad guy trying to kill me, and I wasn't in any danger, but I was lonely. You helped me come out of my shell, and I thank you for that."

Squeezing the Italian's hands, he smiled. "Thank you for saying that, Feli. I never imaged you saying all that."

"Ve~, it needed to be said; you're already a hero, Alfie. Even though you're not well known around the world, the people you helped know of you."

 _'A hero doesn't need to do over the top things, a here just needs to have kindness in their hearts.'_

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 **Yeah, I hope you liked it, again, not my best work, but I wanted to show that I haven't stopped writing. Improvements are appreciated, please tell me what I did right, wrong and how I can improve; R &R and thanks for reading!**


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